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The Jarrett Skinny

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The Jarrett Skinny

January thru April; we had our fun-fill!!

Oh my goodness it has been a busy few months. Mobley was born, we moved, Russell worked in Vegas, I transitioned to mommy of two.... and the list goes on! It has been absolutely amazing having our sweet Mobley man. And Rhyen is such a wonderful big sister. I am so incredibly grateful for how easy she has made it on me; Mobley has needed me much more than I had anticipated. THANK YOU EMILY for the miracle blanket. It's gotten us through some tough nights! The humbling part of it all is knowing we all made it through together. I am so so so lucky that these amazing children chose me to be their mommy!!

JANUARY was a bit of a blur. We were still staying with Russell's parents and Mobley was brand new. I felt blessed to be staying with family, because I had so many helping hands. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! We celebrated RUSSELL'S BIRTHDAY, spent time as a family, and enjoyed being in the beautiful Arizona weather (I was still soooo happy to be back form Kansas!)

FEBRUARY was still pretty blurry, haha. Sleepless nights will do that to ya! Russell and I were lucky enough to go on a date

for valentines day. Yay!! It was nice to get a bit of a break for a few hours to spend with my honey. Russell was called out to Las Vegas for some work, and then I spent the better half of the month getting the new place painted and cleaned for move in (THANK YOU to LIZ and AMANDA for watching my precious babies for me) And I want to say THANK YOU TRENT OVERSON for coming and helping, haha. I sent out a mass text for helpers (I was in desperate need) and Trent came. Thanks so much. I cannot express how much I appreciate everyone who helped me. My mom was pretty great too. It was tough without Russell, but we got 'er done! Russell came home to a cozy house of unpacked boxes, haha. Whew, moving is a lot of work, especially with a newborn.

MARCH was BLUE SKIES and SMILES! Russell's grandma was gracious in allowing us live in her vacant house while we have renters in our house. It's in Mesa (right across the street from Carson), it feels weird being back over by Westwood. So wonderful of her though! Russell was back home so he had time to spend with us. Ah woo hoo! We bought a bike trailer and we were off! haha. Gosh, I forgot how beautifully sunny Arizona is. I LOVE IT! March was all about putting off unpacking and getting outdoors.

APRIL things are lookin' clearer! I finally felt as though I had some sort of routine with the kids. I am all about routine! By the end of April the stress level (due to sleep deprivation and the move) was decreased, by I'd say, 98%. Just living every day in gratitude!! Life is good.

Happy Birth-day Mobley 12/30/2009

The day before Mobley was born I had a doctor's appt. I opted to 'get checked' at this appointment (I had chosen not to beforehand due to the psychological rigamarole you can go through-waiting...anticipating), and was 2 centimeters dilated. My midwife told me the baby was still pretty high, I asked what her professional opinion was regarding 'how long it would be,' she thought it would be a while but instructed me that "you never know." Jenna's wedding was 3 days away, I was the Matron of Honor, and I had wanted to be sure I would make it. Haha. Little did I know, Mobley had other plans...

I left the doctors office in good faith, and went to get a prenatal massage from Mrs. Suzanne McCraw. I wanted to stay in relax mode, and not work myself up too much. Amanda and I had discussed inducing labor with some reflexology techniques that Suzanne knew, but we had vigorously planned to do it the saturday after Jenna's wedding. Again, I did not want to do anything that would jeopardize my attendance to Jenna's wedding. Haha. Funny how the universe works sometimes...

I left Suzanne's and went home utterly relaxed. But I had a really weird feeling; I felt 'the baby' (we didn't name him until the day after he was born) was coming soon. I didn't know when of course, but I told Russell that we needed to get ready, I think he is going to come soon. Russell laughed and thought I was crazy, he was predicting I wouldn't go into labor until Jan. 10th! Shows how much he knew...

12/30/09

I had a really weird dream and woke up for my routine bathroom break around 5 am. I had a contraction but it wasn't painful so I just went back to sleep. Throughout the day contractions would come and go in irregular intervals, but they were never painful. I assumed it was because I was running around a bit, doing laundry, reorganizing our living space, and I figured I just needed to rest. Russell suggested I call the doctor after one contraction had bent me over against the wall...haha...he's so sweet. I called my midwife and they told me what I had assumed, "go to the hospital once contractions are 2-3 minutes apart OR unbearably painful ,walk, take a bath, and if they don't get worse it's probably false labor." So I kept waiting for it to get worse. My contractions got about 5 min apart but then jumped to 8 minutes, then to 6, then 3min, and so on. It was never a regular interval, and the pain was no more than some menstrual cramping (except for a few that were in my back) but again, I was lifting and moving stuff all day). So, I thought, "I just need to relax and these Braxton-Hicks contractions will go away." I took a hot bath and it completely relaxed my entire body. I was lying in the quiet tranquility of the steamed up bathroom, when I heard a pop, immediately followed by an intense amount of pain! Honestly, my first thought was..."OH SHIT," hahaha, followed by "that must be his head dropping into my pelvis!!" Then the vision of staying right where I was and just calling 911 crossed my mind... Russell walked in the bathroom within seconds and as I watched his smile simultaneously fade, he asked "Hey, are you okay, are we gonna go to the hospital?" I couldn't even make eye contact with him, I just said, "We have to go, we have to go now." I was calm and in the zone on the outside, inside though, I was scared of what may be ahead.

The truck ride to the hospital was fun...haha...I kneeled on the front passenger floor board and put my hands on the seat. The most comfortable position for me was to be bent over. Russell put the pedal to the medal, and all I could do was "OOOOOoooooh, OOOOOooooooh" and at an attempt to overcome my 'what the hell was I thinking doing tis without pain meds' thoughts, "my body and my baby know what to do, my body and my baby know what to do" hahaha. This was the toughest part for me because I was terrified of not making it to the hospital. I think I said a prayer after every single contraction.

We arrived at the hospital, so grateful, with every contraction on the way I had felt a gush of liquid (good thing I wasn't sitting on the seat! haha) so my pants were now soaked. In my pain-filled exit from the house I had dropped my shoes and sweatshirt by the door (because that seemed just too tough to deal with at the time). Russell put on my shoes as I anticipated the end of the contraction and said "when this one's over let's make a run for it!" Russell grabbed my bag as I did-what I call-a waddle sprint to the emergency room entrance. I proceeded to gag (throwing up is a part of labor...) and stopped dead in my tracks, I would guess about a hundred yards short, and yelled "I can't make it! I can't make it!" Russell came running up behind me, grabbed my right arm, and said, "Yes you can, yes you can, c'mon!" I really think he pulled me that last bit of the way...

Then... we stood there, in line, quietly, at the emergency room window, until my next contraction that is... I bent forward and began to "Oh, OOOH, OOOOOOH, OOOOOoooooh" and, then, someone helped us.... I was able to sit in the wheel chair as we zoomed up to triage, where they quickly confirmed I was ready to deliver. I was bent over, on all fours, on the bed, as they wheeled me to the delivery room. All the while, yelling by this time, "OOOOh, OOOOh!"

We left the house (Alma School and Main) at about 2:40ish, and Mobley was born at 3:28 (Val Vista and the San Tan 202). My midwife was off that day, the back up midwife was at another hospital delivering, and the OB was on his way. The hospital staffed doctor was then elected to deliver, but did not even have time to put her gloves on before I pushed him out (in one hardy push).... I don't know who actually caught him... (it was an indescribable euphoria once he came out; unbelievable) but he's here, he's healthy,and he's amazing! We are so incredibly grateful :)

"Merry Christmas, and HaPpY hOlIdAyS!!"

Because I am a bit of a slacker when it comes to blogging, here are some pics from the 2009 holiday season :)

"What a wonderful feeling all the joy and the warmth from the floor to the ceiling, it's that time of year, Christmas time is here. It's a blessing from above, GOD sends you his LOVE, EVERYTHING's ok, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!" (for all you N*sync fans)

bLaCk FrIdAy BiKe RiDe

We were ecstatic to be back in Arizona and had to get outdoors to enjoy the beautiful weather! I missed my flip flops in November!!

Back in the A Z! Yahoo!

In November we said farewell to Kansas and made the move back to ArIzOnA! Again, ahwooooooohoooooo! Haha. I wasn't a fan of Kansas, and I think it was due to the lack of social interaction that seem to plague my daily life. I felt as though Rhyen was my only friend! I am so happy and grateful to be back. The decision to move back was easy, but it came with the possibility of financial risks. If I was supposed to learn anything through living in Kansas, and now through the not necessarily ideal transition in AZ, it's that spending time with family and friends is what is genuinely important in life. And I cannot explain what it means to be near them again. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Driving from Kansas to Arizona. I had flown out the week before and left Rhyen with Grammy and Grandpa, so it was just Russell, Novak, and I headed on the highway, lookin' for adventure! Excuse how beautiful I look, haha, it was 4 am when we hit the road!

Goodbye Kansas! It's been real and it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun...

This is Novak. We spent the night in New Mexico, and we had to call and drive all over to find a hotel that would allow dogs. Finally, we found one that was nice and would let us keep our hundred pound dog in the room with us!